Google is celebrating ten years of Chromebooks by introducing a bunch of new features that make Chrome OS a lot more convenient to use. Unlike the previous update, which focused more on convenience, the latest features put an emphasis on phone integration and productivity optimization. Due to this, as Chromebooks continue to get improved hardware, Google's Chrome OS operating system is becoming even more capable at the same time.
Overall, Chrome OS now looks very different to the version that debuted a decade ago. Thanks to Google's frequent updates, Chrome OS has received a slew of notable improvements in the past year alone, including a new Explore app, Picture-in-picture mode, better games support and new gesture controls. Last month, Google teased a whole range of tools designed to make learning and working in Chrome OS easier, and now the company is starting to deliver on some of those.
In a blog post, Google explained what the Chromebook's ten-year anniversary entails, including the debut of new features like Phone Hub and a new Screen Capture tool. Phone Hub allows users to sync their Chromebooks with their Android phones, making it possible for them to check their phone's battery and cellular status, access its Chrome browser tabs and even respond to received texts using nothing other than the Chromebook. The new screen capture tool lets users take screenshots or recordings of anything that's happening on the screen by simply tapping the dedicated button in Quick Settings. There's also a new space called Tote, which lets users access recent downloads and screen captures. The clipboard feature can now save and store up to five previously copied items for users to choose from and paste as they please. Highlighting a text also now lets users access the new Quick Answers feature and useful information, such as definitions, translations or unit conversion without the need to open another tab.
Other Notable Chrome OS Features
Google is constantly finding ways to make using Chromebooks easier, and not just by introducing new features but also improving older ones as well. For starters, the appearance of built-in Chrome OS apps have now been changed to a fit a more uniform color scheme, making it easier for users to distinguish them from other third-party apps. The select-to-speak feature now also gives users the option to speed up, slow down or pause speech, as well as skip to a particular portion of the text.
Sharing has also been improved, allowing users to share images, links or files directly to other supported apps and without having to leave the current window. In addition, Chromebook users won't have to worry about losing their current desktop activity either, as Desks has been optimized to restore every Desk to its previous state upon rebooting. Furthermore, Google's also prepping to release Nearby Share support to allow sharing files seamlessly between Android and Chrome OS devices. Considering the rather expeditious rate that Google's updates are coming through, the future of Chromebooks is starting to look as good as recent sales figures.
Source: Google